* Capital projects aren’t free, and the state obviously can’t pay for them out of existing revenues so we’ll see how all this works out. Erickson with the scoop…
With gasoline selling for less than $2 per gallon throughout much of the state, Gov. Bruce Rauner and his allies in the business community have launched behind-the-scenes talks with state legislative leaders to raise Illinois’ gasoline tax.
Although the governor’s office is not providing details on the negotiations, documents obtained by the Times’ Springfield Bureau outline the workings of a plan designed to finance an estimated $1.8 billion in road building and maintenance projects.
In addition to boosting the gasoline tax by 13 cents a gallon, the outline shows other revenue options on the table include a 2 percent sales tax on food and drugs, increasing the cost of registering and titling cars by $20 annually and boosting the cost of driver’s licenses by $5 a year.
But neither side is ready to discuss the tentative framework publicly. Under one scenario, the increases would be tempered with a decrease in the state’s 6.25 percent sales tax on motor fuel sales to 1.25 percent.
I woudn’t bet too much money on that huge gasoline sales tax reduction. Erickson reports it would cost the state’s General Revenue Fund $700 million. Unless that’s replaced by a different tax hike, it’s not affordable.
*** UPDATE 1 *** From Gov. Rauner’s spokesman Mike Schrimpf…
“The administration has not launched behind-the-scenes talks with legislators to raise the gas tax, or any other taxes or fees to fund a capital program. What’s being circulated by some advocacy groups is not the governor’s plan and does not have his blessing.”
*** UPDATE 2 *** Frpm the Transportation for Illinois Coalition…
“The Transportation for Illinois Coalition is committed to long-term, significant and sustainable investment in Illinois’ critical transportation infrastructure. TFIC is having many discussions around a menu of revenue options that could be used to fund such investment, but there are no negotiations going on at this point.
The Coalition looks forward to presenting a package of funding options and having serious negotiations with the governor and lawmakers to provide a meaningful fix this spring for the network of roads, bridges and transit systems that is so critical to our state’s economic success.”
* On a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the best, how would you rate Gov. Bruce Rauner’s performance so far? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
Public health officials say they are investigating a cluster of measles cases in suburban Chicago.
The Illinois and Cook County public health departments said Thursday morning that the cluster includes five children under age 1 at KinderCare Learning Center in Palatine. Lab test confirm measles in two of the children. Test results are pending for the other three children but they have been diagnosed based on clinical and epidemiological criteria.
Officials say at this time they don’t know the source of the infection.
Thursday, Feb 5, 2015 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Cooperatives can be formed to support producers such as farmers, purchasers such as independent business owners, and consumers such as electric coops and credit unions. Their primary purpose is to meet members’ needs through affordable goods and services of high quality. Cooperatives such as credit unions may look like other businesses in their operations and, like other businesses, can range in size. However, the cooperative structure is distinctively different regardless of size. As not-for-profit financial cooperatives, credit unions serve individuals with a common goal or interest. They are owned and democratically controlled by the people who use their services. Their board of directors consists of unpaid volunteers, elected by and from the membership. Members are owners who pool funds to help other members. After expenses and reserve requirements are met, net revenue is returned to members via lower loan and higher savings rates, lower costs and fees for services. It is the structure of credit unions, not their size or range of services that is the reason for their tax exempt status - and the reason why almost three million Illinois residents are now among 100 million Americans who count on their local credit union every day to reach their financial goals.
Thursday, Feb 5, 2015 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.[
Workers injured on the job deserve the right to reasonable compensation
In 2011, at the strong request of business interests the Workers’ Compensation “Reform” package was signed into law, aimed at lowering costs for employers in Illinois. These changes have had a negative effect on injured workers in Illinois and their ability to receive fair and reasonable compensation when they are injured on the job.
According to a study done by the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services, Illinois had a 17 percent reduction in workers’ compensation rates in the past two years – the steepest drop in the nation. However, Illinois employers should have realized a total premium reduction of $1 billion since 2011. Unfortunately, insurance companies have refused to reduce their premiums in accordance with their own industry’s recommendations.
Demands for additional so-called “reforms” will likely take away more rights from injured workers and further increase the insurance industry’s profits. Any future changes in laws should instead look to promote insurance premium transparency, oversight and competition – not further sacrifices by the injured worker.
For more information about workers’ compensation in Illinois, click here.
“Raisin’ the minimum wage in conjunction with improving the overall jobs climate, will make Illinois more competitive and create a boomin’ economy while increasin’ incomes for hardworkin’ Illinoisans. As we look to make Illinois more competitive, property tax relief is one of our most pressin’ challenges.” … Gov. Bruce Rauner in today’s State of the State address.
In his bid for folksiness, Gov. Rauner dropped so many g’s you’d think he was auditioning for the part of Sheriff Taylor in a Broadway revival of “The Andy Griffith Show.”
It was distracting enough that I went through and counted. Out of 107 words in the speech ending with the “-ing” syllable, Rauner dropped the terminal g 55 times […]
Several times he mixed and matched in a single sentence: “I am personally committed to working closely together with each and every one of you — meeting together, solvin’ problems together, listening and learnin’ from each other.”
So, he dropped his g’s roughly half the time.
It’s such an obviously contrived affectation, and the fact that he can’t consistently pull it off makes it even more irritating.
Lots of Democratic legislators had never heard Rauner give a speech before yesterday, and many were mocking him after the SOTS for his silly mannerism. He may have been in Downstate yesterday, but most people in his audience were from the suburbs and the city.
Not to mention that using bad grammar to sound more folksy to the hicks offends some of us hicks whose parents were conscientious about such matters.
In attempting to build a communications bridge, he may actually be constructing a barrier.
Normally, he sounds like a Midwestern suburbanite, or a TV anchorman. Even in this address, he sounded his natural self on every other word. He was clearly doing this deliberately.
Why? For the same reason he wears a Carhartt jacket and a cheap watch — to make voters forget he’s a fabulously rich magnate whose father was a corporate executive and who grew up in a well-to-do North Shore suburb.
But it doesn’t work. It just makes him sound as though he’s afraid to be himself and has to contort himself into a caricature of an ordinary guy.
When it comes to taxes, spending and other government obligations, Rauner will have to expect voters to respond like grownups to hard choices. He will have to expect us to believe what he’s saying. That’s more likely to happen if we don’t hear him speak in such a fake manner. So it wouldn’t hurt for him to stop the posin’.
Top Rauner aide Rich Goldberg told an Illinois Senate committee Democrats knowingly shorted the program and then-Gov. Pat Quinn did nothing to manage the smaller budget in his final six months in office. That leaves Rauner with his first immediate budget pressure.
“And so we find ourselves in this crisis today,” Goldberg said. “Hardworking families should not have to suffer because of the prior administration’s mistakes.”
Goldberg said the crisis has to be solved without raising taxes or borrowing money from elsewhere in state government.
Madigan said he will keep an “open mind” when it comes to Rauner’s tax ideas and suggested the governor do the same. Madigan noted many Democrats would support increasing the income tax rate — an idea the speaker said he raised with the governor but Rauner rejected. A Rauner spokesman later said the governor “believes we need to work within the framework of a 3.75 (percent income-tax rate) budget.”
Failing any more money, Madigan said he will work with Rauner to plug the budget hole using a combination of techniques that could include giving the governor more authority to cut spending, or dipping into roughly $600 million in specially designated funds.
“We have budget deficits, there’s no dispute about that. They can’t be eliminated simply by cutting,” Madigan said. “I think there has to be a balance in reduction in spending and (new) revenue.”
And while he urged lawmakers to make “choices about what’s best for the next generation, not the next election,” Rauner also unveiled a series of proposed constitutional amendments, including several he wants voters to consider in 2018 — his re-election year — rather than the next statewide election in 2016.
Few if any of those proposals will pass. Asking for the 2018 date is probably more of a subtle dig at Quinn, Madigan and Cullerton for attempting to gin up turnout with several statewide referenda last year.
“I’ve known Mr. Rauner before he decided to be a candidate for governor. He has a lot of strong views on a lot of public issues. He enunciated a lot of those views in the speech today, which he should do,” Madigan said in a press conference following the speech. “Now those views, those issues, those bills will be before the Legislature and they’ll be disposed of by the Legislature, some favorably, some not favorably. That’s the American democratic process.” […]
Madigan’s press conference was illuminating if only to appreciate how deftly he mixed a pledge to work with Rauner and a warning to the governor about his true feelings on some of the ideas in the speech. Here, for example, is Madigan’s answer when asked about Rauner’s desire to let local communities decide if workers in union workplaces can opt out of union membership.
“Right-to-work and right-to-work zones are a favorite topic of, let’s be kind and call them right-wing thinkers. There are others that disagree with it. It all gets into economics, it gets into putting people to work. I’m for putting people to work,” Madigan said. “That’s the best thing we can do for the state. So am I going to reject it out of hand? No. Do I want to know more about the details? Yes. And we’ll take it with everything else that’s before the Legislature.”
On the whole, Rauner gave one of his most detailed speeches yet. But Democrats still found themselves scratching their heads when it was over — wondering how the governor would find new money for the investments in education. He also wants to hire more correctional officers for the state’s prisons.
“The administration is interested in balanced budgets, they’re interested in restraining the growth of state spending,” Madigan said after the speech. “But today they’re asking for an increase in appropriations for child care and for the Department of Corrections. Not being critical, but this just explains how difficult it is to manage state government when there’s a shortage of resources.”
Madigan said the immediate concern should be dealing with the estimated $1.5 billion deficit the state faces in its current budget. Already the state has said money has run out for the program that provides subsidized day care for the poor.
Senate President John Cullerton, D-Chicago, called Rauner’s first State of the State speech a missed opportunity.
“Unfortunately, too much of the governor’s opportunity was squandered with campaign rhetoric that denigrates the reputation of the state,” Cullerton said in a written statement. “With each speech that Governor Rauner delivers, I am reminded that the new governor has a lot to learn if he is to build on our successes in Medicaid reform, workers compensation, pension reform, cutting the bill backlog and meeting our obligations.”
Rauner got applause for calling for a minimum wage hike, but drew gasps and laughter from some Democratic lawmakers when he outlined it would be phased in through 2022. Hours earlier, Senate Democrats advanced a bill to raise the rate to $11 an hour by 2019. The full Senate could vote on the measure Thursday, though support remains questionable in the House.
Some Democratic lawmakers? Try “most, if not all.”
Rauner’s seven-year minimum wage plan did not get rave reviews from all business groups either, including the Illinois Retail Merchants Association. Rob Karr, the group’s president, said the costs of a minimum wage increase would “fall disproportionately on the retail industry.”
After fumbling the minimum wage issue early in his campaign, Rauner eventually focused on tying a minimum wage increase to business-backed reforms. Still, there is recognition the governor’s agenda is politically daunting, with the state government’s finances reeling.
Ed Wehmer, chief executive of Rosemont-based bank operator Wintrust Financial, said Rauner’s phased-in minimum wage increase and workers’ compensation and medical malpractice reforms are “all good initiatives but maybe not all the most important ones.”
“Illinois has so many issues that Bruce Rauner’s State of the State speech would have to be turned into a mini-series if you wanted to cover them all,” Wehmer said.
(R)ating agencies say the most critical issue for Illinois is to match the state’s tax revenues to spending without hiding deep, festering financial wounds under temporary bandages.
The past is littered with proposals to “right the ship, but they didn’t get there,” said Karen Krop, an analyst for Fitch. “We’re looking for an effective balanced budget and a pension solution.”
At least one major bond rating agency disagrees with Rauner’s idea.
In a report for the General Assembly’s fiscal forecasting office, Moody’s Analytics said it is not clear whether right-to-work laws affect economic growth.
“The lack of clarity is mainly due to the fact that union strength is just one factor businesses look at when deciding whether to set up shop or relocate,” the report notes.
The report also notes that right-to-work laws could actually hurt Illinois’ long-term economic growth.
It’s true that, if you don’t ask, you don’t get. It’s also true that Rauner the successful private-equity mogul is used to firing off orders and is on a governmental leaning curve. Maybe we’ll learn that he’s one tough guy who will get what he wants. Or maybe he’ll learn that he has something to learn.
State Sen. SAM McCANN, R-Plainview, has paid a price for his almost-run for governor as an independent last year. Of all 20 Republican members of the Senate, he’s the only one without a leadership position.
Democrats hold 39 seats in the chamber, but despite the GOP’s minority status, the party gets to have a spokesperson on each committee. Just like the Democrats who are committee chairs, those spokespeople receive a stipend of $10,327 over the base legislative pay of $67,836 annually.
Senate Republican Leader CHRISTINE RADOGNO of Lemont assigned 18 of her colleagues to be minority spokespeople on one or more committees. But McCann, who was spokesman last session on what was the Agriculture and Conservation Committee, got no such assignment this year.
As noted in Capitol Fax on Wednesday, even freshmen Sen. NEIL ANDERSON, R-Rock Island, is a minority spokesman. Anderson — who became the only Republican to unseat a Senate Democrat in November when he defeated former Sen. MIKE JACOBS, D-East Moline — has that role on the new Agriculture Committee.
I don’t think it was completely about his almost-run for governor. That’s a significant part of it, for sure, but this is also what did him in…
McCann also confirmed Wednesday that he had been for state Sen. DALE RIGHTER, R-Mattoon, instead of Radogno, for leader this session.
“I thought he’d do a better job,” McCann told me.
It’s actually not that he voted for Righter, it’s that he pledged to vote for Radogno then voted for Righter. And it was apparently the second time he did that to her.
* Remember Benjamin Cole? He’s the guy who tried to talk a Washington Post “Style Page” reporter out of doing a story on Congressman Aaron Schock’s fancy new congressional office remodeling.
In a series of Facebook posts obtained by ThinkProgress, the senior adviser for policy and communications to Rep. Aaron Schock (R-IL) posted racial comments and endorsed gentrification of his neighborhood.
Benjamin Cole, a former Baptist pastor and energy industry spokesman, posted a series of videos and comments on October 13, 2013 mocking two African Americans outside his DC apartment. In the first, he compared them to animals escaping from the National Zoo engaged in “mating rituals.” That message included a video of a woman, shouting and seemingly engaged in an argument with someone not visible as she walked. In each of his posts, he used the hashtag “#gentrifytoday.”
The National Zoo was closed that week due to a federal government shutdown.
The posts appeared to have been removed Wednesday.
Rep. Aaron Schock, R-Peoria, says he’s never been an “old crusty white guy” - and those are his exact words. The 33-year-old congressman from Peoria claims he’s never seen Downton Abbey on TV and that he didn’t realize his Capitol Hill offices actually looked like something fit for a royal highness. […]
An ABC crew had waited for Schock on Capitol Hill because he wouldn’t respond to messages, questions or calls about the fancy red re-do of his congressional quarters by an interior designer from downstate Illinois.
ABC: “So someone in your office said that it was inspired after Downton Abbey, is that right?”
Schock: “Uh, I learned that when I read it in the newspaper myself, so…”
ABC: “What about this decorator though? She’s from your district. Are you going to pay for this? Is this in-kind purchase free service?”
Schock: “No. She is the person who decorated my office four years ago in the Canon building. And I wrote her a personal check for her services.”
ABC: “For how much?”
Schock: “Want to say that it was maybe $6,000. But it was four years ago, but around that. And so, you know, the same thing will happen now. She’s working on the office, so once it’s done, I’m sure I will get an invoice as I did before and we’ll pay.”
Brahler offered her services for free, according to Schock’s office, although he had to pay for the objects.
So, perhaps a clarification is in order. But the top story about the PR guy shows what happens when the media starts focusing on somebody. It ain’t ever pretty.
A top aide to U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock has resigned today, following reports that he made racially charged comments on his personal Facebook page.
Benjamin Cole has served as the fourth-term Peoria lawmaker’s spokesman — and as a “senior adviser” — since March of 2014.
A series of posts on his personal Facebook page were unearthed Thursday first by a writer for the liberal website Think Progress and then by Buzzfeed that sparked the controversy.
“I am extremely disappointed by the inexcusable and offensive online comments made by a member of my staff,” Schock said in a statement to the Journal Star. “I would expect better from any member of my team. Upon learning about them I met with Mr. Cole and he offered his resignation which I have accepted.”
Restructure the motor fuel tax to appropriately invest in infrastructure.
Hmm.
* He also didn’t touch on this topic…
Reform teacher tenure
* Nor did he bring up these…
Extend to municipalities bankruptcy protections to help turn around struggling communities.
Empower local voters to control collective bargaining issues in their local governments and take more direct responsibility for their employees’ benefits.
* He never uttered the word “pension” yesterday, but the topic was covered in his handout…
Protect historically accrued state pension benefits for retirees and current workers, while moving all current workers into the Tier 2 pension plan and/or a 401(k) for their future work. Police and firefighters should receive separate special consideration.
Pursue permanent pension relief through a constitutional amendment.
* The document also fleshes out some issues just a tiny bit more than Rauner did yesterday. For instance…
Freeze property taxes for two years by amending Illinois’ Property Tax Extension Limitation Law. The total property tax extension could not increase above the 2015 levy year, except for new construction or property in a TIF district. Voters would still be allowed to override the freeze via referendum.
That’s the first time he’s pointed to a specific path to freezing property taxes. Commenters who are knowledgeable about this topic are invited to chime in.
* Some more stuff…
Implement true workers’ compensation reform legislation that updates how injuries are apportioned to ensure employers pay for injuries that occur on the job; clarifies the definition of “traveling employees” to ensure a reasonable standard that excludes risks that would impact the general public; and implements American Medical Association guidelines when determining impairment.
Make Illinois unemployment insurance fair for beneficiaries and employers, including legislation that cracks down on benefit fraud for those who voluntarily leave employment but receive benefits and provides a more fair definition of misconduct in the workplace.
Lift the arbitrary cap on public charter schools, reduce funding disparities for public charters and provide more high-quality educational options to students through tax credit scholarships.
Eliminate unnecessary testing and institute a rigorous K-12 student growth measure, using ACT and other national metrics.
Reform the criminal code to ensure sentences are commensurate with the severity of the crime, and reduce penalties for non-violent offenses.
Launch a bipartisan Criminal Justice Reform Commission with a goal to improve public safety and reduce prison population by 25 percent in 10 years.
* It’s a little hard to hear because it was recorded at the back of the Blue Room, but this is Speaker Madigan’s full press conference yesterday following the governor’s State of the State address…
* Jim Reed of the Illinois Education Association sitting next to Kristina Rasmussen of the Illinois Policy Institute at today’s State of the State Address…
And, yes, I know the governor has an annoying affectation of dropping some of his g’s (not all, just some, which is why it’s annoying), but let’s please stick to substance. Thanks.
State Sen. Andy Manar on Tuesday called for a $500 million increase in education funding as part of his plan to revamp Illinois’ school funding formula.
The Bunker Hill Democrat filed Senate Bill 1 in mid-January, which he plans to use to overhaul how the state funds its schools. He said at a Statehouse news conference he was echoing the State Board of Education’s recent request for $729 million more than in the current budget. […]
“I don’t think there’s too many people in the building – Democrat or Republican – that think the way we do things today is worth preserving,” he said. “So that brings about the question of how we’re going to change it and how we’re going to get there.” […]
Gov. Bruce Rauner is expected to propose massive cuts during his Feb. 18 budget address to battle a potential $9 billion deficit. Manar said he wouldn’t take any options off of the table on how to find the money – including cuts to other programs such as Medicaid – but where the money comes from would ultimately be part of the budget discussions.
A measles outbreak spreading across the country is fueling the debate over vaccinations and causing alarm among parents, pediatricians and public health officials in the Chicago area. Doctors are fielding calls from anxious parents — some who are wondering if their vaccinated children are safe, others who are re-examining their decision not to immunize.
“We’ve been getting phone call after phone call,” said Dr. Anita Chandra-Puri, a pediatrician, who estimates that inquiries into her Lincoln Park office regarding vaccines have gone from zero a month ago to about 10 per day. “Parents are asking everything — from whether or not their kids have been immunized to questioning whether it’s safe for them to travel.”
Dr. Robert Minkus has seen a spike too. The Skokie pediatrician said he has received “dozens and dozens” of calls during the last two weeks from parents who had declined or deferred immunizations and have now had a change of heart. “It was different when measles was something abstract,” he said. “But they’re saying, ‘I want it now.’”
Last week, the Illinois Department of Public Health reported that a suburban Cook County resident had a confirmed case of measles — the first this year. Before that, the state recorded only a handful of cases over the years, with no cases at all in some years over the past two decades. There were 32 cases reported statewide in 2008; 59 in 1994; and 1,356 in 1990 — when there was a surge nationwide.
a) The provisions of this Part shall not apply if:
1) The parent or legal guardian of the child objects to the requirements of this Part on the grounds that the administration of immunizing agents conflicts with his or her religious tenets or practices, or
2) A physician licensed to practice medicine in all its branches, an advanced practice nurse or a physician assistant states in writing that the physical condition of the child is such that the administration of one or more of the required immunizing agents is medically contraindicated.
b) If a religious objection is made, a written and signed statement from the parent or legal guardian detailing the objection shall be presented to the child care facility or local school authority. The religious objection statement shall be considered valid if:
1) The parent or legal guardian of a child entering a child care facility objects to the immunization or immunizations on the grounds that they conflict with the tenets and practices of a recognized church or religious organization of which the parent is an adherent or member; or
2) The objection by the parent or legal guardian of a child entering school (including programs below the kindergarten level) sets forth the specific religious belief that conflicts with the immunizations. The religious objection may be personal and need not be directed by the tenets of an established religious organization.
c) It is not the intent of this Part that any child whose parents comply with the intent of the Act should be excluded from a child care facility or school. A child or student shall be considered to be in compliance with the law if there is evidence of the intent to comply. Evidence may be a signed statement from a health care provider that he or she has begun, or will begin, the necessary immunization procedures, or the parent’s or legal guardian’s written consent for the child’s participation in a school or other community immunization program.
* As the Daily Herald reported in 2013, that religious exemption is pretty darned broad…
Illinois has two types of exemptions allowing unvaccinated kids to stay in school: One calls for a doctor’s note if, for example, a child is allergic to a certain vaccine. Or, a parent can file a religious objection to the immunizations.
That second method has opened a gateway to forego the shots that more and more parents, such as Elgin’s Ashley Focht, are choosing to walk through. She has skipped immunizing her son Gavin, despite not having any actual religious beliefs against vaccines. […]
Juanita Gryfinski is one of the many school nurses who can provide a link to that help. She was recently a nominee for the Illinois Association of School Nurses Nurse Administrator of the Year Award for her work in St. Charles Unit District 303 schools. She reads every religious exemption letter in her district.
“The letter just has to state a religious belief that conflicts with our immunization policy,” Gryfinski said. “But they don’t have to attach it with a specific religious tenet or church. Some people are very specific and talk about fetal material used in a vaccine. Some just briefly mention ‘a creator.’ But as soon as it says religious belief it gets very unlikely that I would reject a request because I can’t read somebody’s heart. What I’m looking for is any indication that they are trying to avoid something else.”
* The All Natural Mom blog had a post about Illinois’ exemptions a couple of years ago…
In Illinois, you have to use the word “spiritual” or “personal religious beliefs” at least three times in your letter. […]
When submitting your religious exemption letter, here are a few tips. Get the school physical form that the school gives you (if they need a physical that year). Have the doctor fill out everything else. If you refuse vaccines, they just write over the vaccine section “Refused.” Don’t be scared by the nurses in your doctor’s office either. They are usually totally unaware of the laws because I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been asked by the nurses, “How will your kids go to school?” I was told my kids would not be allowed to attend school without their vaccines. Wrong. That’s what the pharmaceutical companies want you to think. […]
In the last 10 years, I’ve never once been asked to keep my kids at home. Why? Because there has never been an outbreak of one of these diseases. If there were, I’m sure we would have gotten a letter home to the class about it. We get letters every time someone has strep. I also believe if there were an outbreak, some nurses may not remember which kids were the ones who were not vaccinated. I’m thinking they are just required to tell us that.
If questioned by a school administrator who does not know the law, they may question your religious belief. This is illegal and tell them so. They cannot question your personal religious belief.
As parents, based on our personal religious beliefs, we object to the following vaccinations, including but not limited to, Dtap/DPT, HepB, Hib, Tetanus (TB), MMR, Polio, and Varicella (Chicken Pox), for our child, ___________.
Our child’s body is the temple of God. Our family’s personal religious beliefs prohibit the injection of foreign substances into our bodies. To inject into our child any substance which would alter the state into which he was born would be to criticize our Lord and question His divine omnipotence. Our faith will not allow us to question our Lord and God, nor to challenge His divine power.
I Corithians 6: 19-20, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God? …Therefore honor God with your body.”
II Corinthians 7:1, “…let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.
Our objection is based on our lifelong, deeply-held spiritual beliefs based on scripture.
The vaccination of our child violates laws put forth within us by a higher force at the time of conception.
Our personal religious beliefs include our obedience to God’s law, the Holy Bible, and we believe that we are responsible before God for the life and safety of our child, created by God.
* Speaker Madigan has announced that he’ll appear on Public Television’s Illinois Lawmakers program after today’s State of the State address. He’s also planning a 1:30 press conference to react to the governor’s address. You can watch the address and the interview on BlueRoomStream.com’s live feed here and here. Democratic legislative react will be here. GOP react will be here. I’ll be on Illinois Lawmakers’ pre-game and post-game shows.
More than 30 Chicago area social service agencies discovered an unwelcome surprise in their email inboxes late last Thursday afternoon.
A letter from the Illinois Department of Human Services tersely informed them to “cease any and all operations” funded by state grants they were awarded in the closing weeks of Gov. Pat Quinn’s administration.
The contract awards, which were announced Dec. 17 and took effect Jan. 1, were intended to provide job training, after school and other “youth development” programs.
Some $8 million total was involved, a drop in the bucket compared with the $1.5 billion budget deficit that Gov. Bruce Rauner says he inherited from Quinn upon his Jan. 12 inauguration.
“He has cut $4.5 million in youth employment,” said Father Michael Pfleger of the St. Sabina Parish. “He has cut $3.5 million in after school care. Make it clear, this money he can say the state didn’t have, this money was allocated. Jobs began, contracts were signed as of January 1.”
One of those contracts was with the Humboldt Park-based Youth Connections, which was expecting $900,000 to fund 250 jobs.
“I was sad. I was crushed,” said Founder of Fellowship Connections Lynette Santiago. “In this economy and in this community we serve, to have to tell people that they are no longer employed… I don’t know.”
Pfleger said the cuts are “inappropriate” at the time and come at a time when the governor is raising the salaries of his own staff.
“In order to keep the income tax low, he’s going to have to make spending cuts in the state budget,” said Diana Rickert of the Illinois Policy Institute, a free market think thank that is a Rauner beneficiary.
Rickert expects the governor to cut selected social programs as well as state worker jobs and salaries.
“Everything is fair game for cuts this year,” Rickert says. “The reason why is government has been over spending for many, many years.”
Communities United, formerly known as the Albany Park Neighborhood Council, had planned to use its $276,000 grant mainly to operate its popular Bikes N’ Roses program, which I have written about previously.
The group employs neighborhood youth after school and during the summer to work in its bike repair shop, where they are trained not only to completely overhaul a bicycle but also to work with the public, to come to work on time and to meet deadlines.
Oscar Rivera Jr., the program director, had already hired 50 kids and was planning to open a second shop in the Belmont Cragin neighborhood. Some had quit other jobs to take this one, he said.
A watchdog group Tuesday asked the Office of Congressional Ethics to examine whether Rep. Aaron Schock of Illinois acted improperly by accepting free services from an interior designer who redid his offices with a “Downton Abbey” motif.
The Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington asked for the probe in a letter from Anne Weismann, its interim executive director and chief counsel.
The request was prompted by a story in Tuesday’s Washington Post about the fresh decor in the Republican lawmaker’s Rayburn Building office. […]
The paper quoted Schock’s office as saying Brahler offered her services for free, His congressional district includes Jacksonville, Ill., where Euro Trash is located.
In December 2009 he paid $7,400 to an Illinois design/build firm called KBL Design Center, and then another $21,000 to a hardwood floor company, a building contractor and company called Old World Granite and Marble that apparently makes high-end countertops. He then spent $6,600 on an Illinois painting contractor.
Two months later, Schock spent $79,061 on furniture purchases, including $5,123 from a company called Mulnix Industries that specializes in hardwood podiums.
Around the same time, Schock spent more than $4,000 with a fine-leather furniture company called Garrett Leather.
All of the expenditures came out of Schock’s taxpayer-funded office account, which lawmakers can use to buy office furniture and pay for renovations.
* Gov. Rauner’s team leaked some State of the State stuff to the Tribune…
The rookie Republican chief executive will suggest to lawmakers an overhaul of the parole system and higher spending on programs that help inmates find jobs and readjust to the community after they’ve served their time, according to an aide for Rauner with knowledge of the speech. Specifically, Rauner will talk about a program known as Adult Redeploy, which provides grants to counties to develop ways to keep nonviolent offenders out of state prisons.
Those efforts, coupled with the hiring of an unspecified number of correctional officers, are aimed at addressing what Rauner will call the “unsafe environment” for prisoners and guards alike because of the state’s high prison population. […]
The governor’s offensive on organized labor is likely to continue in Wednesday’s speech. He is expected to call on unions with state contracts to include more minorities in their apprenticeship programs, and require work crews on taxpayer-funded construction projects to “reflect the diversity in the surrounding area,” according to a Rauner aide. The move has the political benefit of tweaking unions while also appealing to minority voters.
Rauner also is expected to propose creating a program that would help minority-owned businesses get off the ground.
Watch for signs of influence from first lady Diana Rauner, who leads the Ounce of Prevention Fund, an early childhood education not-for-profit group.
She told The Associated Press last month that one of her primary roles as first lady will be to advocate for vulnerable children and families, and to help her husband understand the struggles social service agencies and families are facing.
Will the governor, who’s pledged to make Illinois both “competitive and compassionate,” touch on any of those topics?
…Adding…. Oops. They did give the AP one nugget that I somehow missed…
A Rauner administration official said Tuesday that the governor will reiterate his call to increase early childhood and K-12 education funding, despite Rauner’s warning for weeks that painful budget cuts may be coming in other areas.
Subscribers have known about that for at least a week.
Remember the unbelievable news that former Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon was reportedly considering a bid for Congress, despite her ties to failed former Governor Pat Quinn?
It turns out, after testing the waters for a few weeks, Simon is not anxious to jump into the race. Today, Roll Call reported that she has rebuffed Democratic recruitment efforts, saying she was “not actively pursuing it.” Simon even went a step further, comparing campaigning to childbirth and that “it’s not something to jump back into right away.”
Simon certainly does not sound like somebody who wants to run. Perhaps Sheila Simon has finally realized that being besties with politically-toxic Pat Quinn will make running for office again a bigger challenge than she ever realized. Then again, Simon must know that in Southern Illinois, being recruited by Nancy Pelosi is just as toxic as being Pat Quinn’s protégé.
NRCC Comment: “Southern Illinois families have had enough of Sheila Simon and Pat Quinn’s failed policies. Democrats will need to step up their recruiting because 12th district voters know better than to send a Pat Quinn protégé to Washington.” – NRCC Spokesman Zach Hunter
That’s really over the top. Apparently, some DC types can’t resist taking shots at people who aren’t even candidates and probably wouldn’t have ever been a candidate.
Tuesday, Feb 3, 2015 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
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West suburban lawmakers announced a package of bills Monday aimed at punishing the College of DuPage for giving President Robert Breuder a lucrative severance package and at preventing other taxing bodies from approving similar buyouts. […]
The legislative moves come nearly a week after College of DuPage trustees took an unusual revote to approve a $763,000 severance deal for Breuder, who will retire in March 2016 from the publicly funded community college in Glen Ellyn. The buyout agreement also promises to name the school’s homeland security education center after him.
More than 400 people — including several state lawmakers from the area — attended the revote meeting to denounce the deal, which some trustees now say was done to end Breuder’s current contract early. Breuder, whose total compensation last year was about $484,000, was under contract until 2019, according to an agreement that had been secretly changed by the trustees over the years.
On the severance issue, trustees also were under fire for possibly violating the state’s Open Meetings Act, which requires a public recital of the matter being considered, during an earlier vote.
* The House Republicans summed up the legislative proposals, most of which are still being drafted by LRB…
Representative Batinick is seeking legislation that will provide a recall mechanism for all non-home rule units of government. The legislation includes community college boards of trustees.
Representative Breen is seeking legislation that would cap the amount of allowable severance agreements passed by community college trustees. Breen is seeking to cap such agreements to the equivalent of one year’s salary plus benefits.
Representative Breen is [also] seeking legislation that would bar community colleges from expending state dollars from any state fund, property tax funds or student tuition dollars on severance agreements that exceed the equivalent of one year’s salary plus benefits.
A redraft of HB3289 (Ives, 98th) has been submitted to LRB with additional language pertaining to College of DuPage. Representative Ives has added a 14-day public posting requirement for contracts with salary in excess of $150,000.
HR 55 (Ives) - Directs the Auditor General to conduct a performance audit of the state moneys provided to College of DuPage for FY11 through FY14.
HB 303 - Representative McDermed has introduced legislation that includes severance and settlement agreements that use public funds in the Freedom of Information Act. The legislation is essentially what was introduced in response to the Metra severance scandal in 2013.
Representative Sandack is seeking legislation that will reduce the amount of state money available to community college boards should they take action similar to College of DuPage. If a community college uses state moneys for severance agreements, the community college will have the same amount deducted from the next disbursement by the Comptroller immediately following board action.
Representative Wehrli is seeking legislation to shorten all community college trustee terms to four years from six years. The language will provide that, in order for staggered terms to survive, trustees elected in 2017 will serve two year terms and then trustees elected in 2019 will henceforth serve four year terms. Trustees elected in 2015 will serve until 2021 but then trustees elected in 2021 will henceforth serve four year terms.
* The Question: Which of these proposals do you like? Which ones do you not like? Explain, please.
* Sen. Andy Manar is having a press conference today to unveil his revised school funding reform bill. Here’s the media handout…
School Funding Reform Act of 2015
The School Funding Reform Act of 2015 is a reintroduced version of last year’s Senate Bill 16, a proposal to replace Illinois’ dated General State Aid (GSA) formula with a new, need-based system.
Background
Illinois has the second most regressive public school funding system in the country: Districts with significant low-income populations in Illinois get less combined funding from state, local and federal sources than districts with more affluent students. Last year’s proposal passed the Senate and was designed to alleviate this disparity and increase transparency in the system.
The School Funding Reform Act is based on the findings of the bipartisan Education Funding Advisory Committee that was created to study this problem and recommend changes to a funding system that hadn’t been updated or reviewed since 1997.
SB 16 would have:
• Created a single, need-based funding formula (Primary State Aid); replacing GSA and an outdated grant-based system
• Prioritized state resources to help school districts and students who most need them
• Increased transparency by requiring individual schools to account for how they spend state funds, replacing the old district-by-district reports
• Included Chicago in the new, need-based formula—eliminating the Chicago Public Schools block grant
Updates
School Funding Reform Act of 2015 (SB 1) has evolved based on discussions with more than 400 local superintendents and statewide town halls involving parents and educators.
The new bill includes the following improvements to SB 16:
Regionalization: Considers regional differences when determining state aid for districts. The new legislation uses the National Center for Education Statistics’ Comparable Wage Index to measure variation in salaries and cost of living from district to district.
Low-income calculation: Calculates the low-income population of a district based on the number of students receiving services from the Illinois Department of Human Services (generally students below 200 percent of the poverty line). This replaces the number used under SB 16, which was based on the number of students receiving free and reduced lunch (generally students below 185 percent of the poverty line).
Adequacy study: Expedites a study that will analyze the adequate amount of funding for education and develop a base level funding for adequate student growth. The study will consider how student characteristics, tax rates and preschool expansion should be factored into the funding formula.
Adequacy grants: Provides additional funding for districts that are collecting taxes at or above state averages but are spending below a calculated adequacy target— the Education Funding Advisory Board’s adequacy recommendation weighted for each district. This would protect underfunded districts from losses under SB1.
ELL reporting: Requires school districts receiving state funding for English Language Learner (ELL) programs to report their revenues and costs related to bilingual education.
Special education flexibility: Ensures that districts with above average special education needs will be funded based on their number of special education students, rather than the statewide rate of 13.8 percent.
***Projections from the Illinois State Board of Education will be distributed when they become available. ***
Tuesday, Feb 3, 2015 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
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* Council 31’s spokesman Anders Lindall responds to Gov. Bruce Rauner’s anti-union memo to lawmakers…
It’s bizarre and outrageous for Bruce Rauner to suggest that public employees aren’t ‘working families’. He’s wrong to vilify workers who serve the public, earn middle-class wages and have a right to a voice through their union.
And it’s especially offensive for Rauner to criticize prison and highway workers who risk their lives to do some of our state’s most dangerous work.
His false attacks seem designed to distract from real problems, like tax loopholes for big corporations and giveaways to wealthy individuals who funded Rauner’s political campaign.
The governor spoke often about closing corporate tax loopholes during the campaign. Not much since, however.
I’m told the governor’s State of the State address will focus on solutions and not on the state’s problems. It’s about freaking time.
* A whole bunch of people sent me a link to this WaPo story about Congressman Aaron Schock’s newly renovated DC office…
Bright red walls. A gold-colored wall sconce with black candles. A Federal-style bull’s-eye mirror with an eagle perched on top. And this is just the Illinois Republican’s outer office.
“It’s actually based off of the red room in ‘Downton Abbey,’ ” said the woman behind the front desk, comparing it to the luxurious set piece at the heart of the British period drama. […]
She introduced herself as Annie Brahler, the interior decorator whose company is called Euro Trash. She guided me to Schock’s private office, revealing another dramatic red room. This one with a drippy crystal chandelier, a table propped up by two eagles, a bust of Abraham Lincoln and massive arrangements of pheasant feathers.
Then, my phone rang.
It was Schock’s communications director, Benjamin Cole.
“Are you taking pictures of the office?” he asked. “Who told you you could do that? . . . Okay, stay where you are. You’ve created a bit of a crisis in the office.”
What? They thought nobody would find out? It’s a public office, for crying out loud. I mean, yeah, some of it was donated by the designer and Schock paid for the rest, but it’s still in the Rayburn Building.
House rules prohibit Members of Congress from accepting most gifts valued at $50 or more — including “gifts of services, training, transportation, lodging, and meals, whether provided in kind, by purchase of a ticket, payment in advance, or reimbursement after the expense has been incurred.”
Stephen Spaulding, policy counsel for the non-partisan Common Cause, told ThinkProgress that this donation of services from a professional decorator could well violate both the spirit and letter of the House gift rules: “It certainly raises plenty of questions that I think [Schock] needs to answer.”
Attorney General Lisa Madigan today announced a $1.375 billion settlement with Standard & Poor’s to resolve allegations that the credit ratings agency compromised its independence and objectivity in assigning its highest ratings to risky mortgage-backed securities in the lead up to the 2008 economic collapse.
Illinois will receive $52.5 million under the joint state-federal settlement forged by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Madigan and 19 other attorneys general and S&P, a subsidiary of McGraw-Hill Companies, that is one of the nation’s largest credit ratings agencies responsible for independently rating risk on behalf of clients and investors.
In 2012, Madigan was one of the first attorneys general in the country to file a lawsuit against S&P for its misconduct that contributed to the 2008 collapse. Madigan’s lawsuit alleged S&P compromised its independence as a ratings agency by doling out high ratings to unworthy, risky investments to increase its profits, while its misrepresentations spurred investors, including Illinois’ pension funds, to purchase securities that were far riskier than their ratings indicated.
“Standard & Poor’s deliberately exploited its trusted reputation as an independent analyst to maximize profits and gain market share, and in the process, S&P became a key enabler of the economic meltdown,” Attorney General Madigan said. “Were it not for S&P abandoning its core principles, these securities, made up of unsustainable mortgages destined for default, could never and would never have been purchased by many investors.”
According to the settlement, S&P consistently made misrepresentations about the processes it used to assign credit ratings to mortgage-backed securities. While publicly promising independent, objective analyses, the company privately relaxed its ratings criteria and manipulated subprime mortgage data to ensure its clients’ mortgage-backed securities would achieve higher ratings than the actual quality of the assets supported. These tactics were part of an overarching corporate strategy intended to retain clients and increase market share, according to the settlement agreement.
Mortgage-backed securities are financial products made up of a pool of mortgages that are bundled together and sold as a security. The assets are backed by residential mortgages, including subprime mortgages. The performance of these investment products have significant, real-world implications for Illinois institutional investors, such as pension funds and 401(k) managers that make decisions about whether, and which, of these securities are appropriate investments. It was the misrepresentation of the true risk of these mortgage securities that helped the housing market skyrocket and ultimately led to its collapse in 2008.
Under today’s settlement, S&P will pay a $1.375 billion penalty, which exceeds the company’s profits earned for rating mortgage-backed securities from 2002-2007. The majority of the relief awarded to Illinois will be distributed to the state’s pension systems. Further, S&P has agreed to a statement of facts acknowledging conduct related to its analysis of structured finance securities. S&P also agreed to comply with all applicable state laws and will cooperate with requests for information from states that may express concern over a possible violation of state law. The states have also retained authority to enforce their laws – the same laws used to bring these cases – if S&P engages in similar conduct in the future.
* The Tribune reports that far more people have signed up for Medicaid than expected and costs per person are skyrocketing…
Starting in 2017, Illinois and other states that also expanded their programs are required to start paying a small portion of the bill, rising to no more than 10 percent of the total tab. State health officials estimated in 2012 that Illinois’ portion of the expansion would cost $573 million from 2017 through 2020.
But far more people signed up in 2014, the expansion’s first year, than the state expected. Based on multiple interviews and a Tribune analysis of government data, Illinois will pay at least $907 million from 2017 through 2020 because of those new members. The tab could surge even higher, though.
A document sent by Quinn’s office to the federal government over the summer significantly raised the per-person estimated cost, bumping the state’s total outlay to $2 billion, using 2014 enrollment numbers, more than three times the original estimate. […]
Original projections anticipated that 199,000 residents would sign up in 2014, potentially rising to no more than 342,000. State officials estimated a monthly, per person cost of $454, and revised that number upward to $882 in the document sent to in June to federal officials.
But through December, 540,877 joined Medicaid’s ranks. State officials said thousands more likely signed up through January.
* The Tribune editorial board wants the state to impose fees…
Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana in recent days announced an expansion of Medicaid, with a twist. The Republican governor secured the approval of the Obama administration to require that Medicaid enrollees chip in a small contribution — up to around $26 a month for a single adult — for their health care premiums. If people fail to make the payments, they could be denied coverage for six months.
The deal also discourages unnecessary trips to the emergency room — an expensive item in every Medicaid budget — by imposing copays of up to $25 for patients who make unnecessary trips.
Pence’s plan will provide health care to as many as 350,000 people, and set a new model for responsible use of that health care.
* From Jason Barclay, General Counsel, Office of the Governor:
Governor Rauner directed our legal team to conduct a comprehensive review of the evaluation and selection process that the Quinn administration used to recommend applicants for licensure in the State’s Medical Cannabis Pilot Program.
His request was threefold. First, determine whether the process used by the Quinn administration followed the law. Second, share our findings with the Attorney General and determine what, if any, corrective actions need to be taken for any failures to fully comply with the law. Finally, recommend a plan of action that corrects any deficiencies and fully adheres to the spirit and letter of the law.
Our recently completed legal review identified four potential problem areas:
1) The review teams imposed certain arbitrary scoring “cut-offs” that were not expressly contemplated or provided by law that effectively eliminated certain applicants from consideration;
2) The agencies conducted a character and fitness review of the applicants after the blind scoring process had been completed;
3) As part of the character and fitness review, several applicants were disqualified without clear procedures and standards for disqualification and without offering the prospective applicants an opportunity to respond to the information that was relied upon to make the disqualification decisions; and
4) Despite seemingly contradictory language in the rules promulgated by the Illinois Department of Agriculture, the prior administration decided to award no more than one cultivation center license to applicants who were the high point scorers in more than one district.
We concluded that these problem areas create a risk of substantial and costly litigation to the State. We shared our findings and this conclusion with the Attorney General. Her staff conducted a prompt review and for that we thank them.
As a result of our consultation with the Attorney General, we have further concluded that there is a significant likelihood that the Quinn Administration’s decisions will not be upheld in court. We have also relied upon the Attorney General’s legal guidance and must now take all necessary corrective action to make sure that these licenses and permits are properly issued in compliance with the law.
As a result of these conclusions, we are therefore recommending the following actions:
1) Licenses and permits will be issued to the highest scorers in each district where the top scorer was not disqualified;
2) Cultivation center applicants that were high scorers in more than one district will be awarded permits up to the three permit limit that was expressly provided by 8 Illinois Administrative Code (the “IL Department of Agriculture Rules”) Section 1000.40(d);
3) The artificial and subjective scoring “cut-offs” that were imposed by the agencies will be eliminated and licenses and permits will be awarded to the high scorers in those districts regardless of their final point total; and
4) Any applicant that was recommended for disqualification will be fully informed of the basis for that decision, given an opportunity to respond in writing and/or in-person to the respective licensing agency’s director and general counsel to contest the recommendation, and a final written character and fitness decision will be made consistent with the relevant pre-established formal standards established by the IL Department of Agriculture Rules Section 1000.110(j) or 68 Illinois Administrative Code (the “IL Department of Financial and Professional Regulation Rules”) Section 1290.70(e) – (f).
These actions may result in some additional minimal delay in a limited number of districts and for that we apologize to the patient community. The Governor has requested that this process must be deliberate, fair, and fully comply with the law. In order to accomplish those important objectives, these additional steps are essential to correct the deficiencies of the previous administration’s selection process. Only then can the public have the fullest confidence that the law was followed and these licenses and permits were awarded for the right reasons.
* Gov. Bruce Rauner just sent this memo to state legislators…
TO: Members of the General Assembly
FROM: Bruce Rauner, Governor
DATE: February 2, 2015
SUBJECT: The Attached Slides
Good Afternoon:
As you know, I have been delivering a number of speeches detailing many of the structural challenges confronting Illinois. Before our joint session on Wednesday, I wanted to share two additional slides with you. I hope you are able to review them soon.
The first slide is a summary of the federal rules regarding U.S. government employees. The rules were codified in 1978 under President Jimmy Carter and a Democratic Congress. The pension system changes were enacted under President Ronald Reagan in conjunction with a bipartisan legislature. We too can achieve common-sense bipartisan reforms to our employment rules that are fair to both state workers and taxpayers.
The second slide shows a few examples of spending levels inside Illinois government. These levels are unsustainable and unfair to working families, small businesses and other taxpayers in Illinois. They limit our ability to grow our economy and to fund much needed social services. We do not intend to propose government salary reductions, but it is critical that we make structural reforms that prevent any future imbalances and unfair practices. It is also abundantly clear that we must make major reforms to eliminate conflicts of interest and to achieve dramatic economic growth in order to properly fund the operations of our state government.
I look forward to seeing you on Wednesday and working with you in the weeks and months ahead.
Sincerely,
Bruce
Emphasis added by request.
* From Slide One…
Federal Government Employee Structure
(Federal Service Labor –Management Relations Statute 1978)
• Employees have the right to organize and collectively bargain over work conditions including work hours, grievance procedures, work assignments
• Employees are prohibited from strikes, work stoppages, slowdowns, picketing, etc.
• Employees cannot bargain over wages, benefits, pensions, personnel decisions and managerial rights (prohibits bargaining on mission, budget, organization, number of employees or internal security)
• Government can not force its employees to participate in or fund labor union activities that they do not support
• No automatic mandatory arbitration provision or injunctions in aid of arbitration for collective bargaining impasse
• Prior to 1983, pension was defined benefit plan with no Social Security. Since then, the retirement system was reformed to become a hybrid system including a defined benefit annuity, Social Security and a 401(k)
Sounds like he wants the same for AFSCME and the teachers.
Whew.
* Slide Two…
I think most of those barbers work in prisons. They probably deserve the pay bump.
Each of us advances the cause of liberty in our own special way.
For some of our amazing team members at the Illinois Policy Institute and Illinois Policy Action, that means taking on a new challenge to improve government from the inside out.
It is with great pride that I share the news that the following individuals will be putting their talent to work on behalf of the people of Illinois with Gov. Bruce Rauner’s administration.
Brian Costin, who served as our director of government reform, will begin as policy director for Lt. Gov. Evelyn Sanguinetti.
Donovan Griffith, who served as our manager of government affairs, will serve as legislative liaison at the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.
Jane McEnaney, who served as our manager of government affairs, will transition to chief legislative liaison at the Illinois Department of Revenue.
We are honored that the new administration is looking to our team for talent.
We wish Brian, Jane and Donovan the best of success as they continue their work to write the next chapter of Illinois’ comeback story.
Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner on Friday replaced the longtime Illinois Gaming Board chairman with a political supporter who ran an independent expenditure committee that backed him in the November election. […]
[Springfield resident Don Tracy] said he would not lobby for or against the expansion of gambling but indicated he would be vocal in providing input on legislation.
It might be hard to be any more vocal than Aaron Jaffe, a former judge and Democratic legislator who was appointed chairman by then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich following a tumultuous period of the Gaming Board. Jaffe oversaw the final issuance of the highly disputed 10th riverboat license that had become dormant, as well as the rollout of video gambling throughout Illinois.
Jaffe was critical of repeated proposals to expand gambling into Chicago and other areas of the state, raising concerns that standards were too loose. Former Gov. Pat Quinn, who had reappointed Jaffe previously and sought to extend his term, vetoed proposed expansions.
Not mentioned is that Jaffe’s Gaming Board completely botched the video gaming rollout, which delayed implementation for more than a year. Also, Jaffe always seemed to fuss that gaming expansion would hurt the existing casinos. That really shouldn’t have been his concern. And his attempt to regulate which employees taverns and restaurants could hire and which truck drivers could deliver beer and food to those establishments was just ridiculous.
He did some good things at the beginning, and his regulation of the casinos should be applauded, but toward the end he became kinda weird.
* The Illinois Review has this note about Chairman Tracy…
During the 2010 election, Tracy said on the campaign trail that he was opposed to the expansion of gambling. That year, the socially-conservative Family-Pac endorsed Don Tracy in the LG race.
Rauner has also said he doesn’t like gaming, but says Chicago should have a casino because Indiana is luring so many folks away. I assume they are on the same page here (both also favor “right to work”), but one never knows.
* I’m a little surprised that Tracy’s $100,000 campaign expenditure on behalf of Rauner didn’t prompt anyone to look back at Rauner’s repeated pledge to keep cronies out of government…
Bruce Rauner on what’s wrong with the Illinois Department of Agriculture: It’s “full of cronyism.”
Bruce Rauner on the difference between the Blagojevich and Quinn administrations (from the Trib): “‘The only difference between Pat and Rod is the hair,’ Rauner declared, saying both administrations contained ‘corruption’ and ‘cronyism.’”
Bruce Rauner on favoritism at the Illinois Department of Transportation: “You can be fairly certain that there would have been many veterans that could have taken those jobs instead of the cronies who were hired.”
The Democratic Gaming Board appointee, Tom Dunn, was instrumental in bringing riverboats to his Joliet-area district back when he was a Senator. Whether he’ll now try to protect those boats by opposing a Chicago casino is unknown.
* The ads were boring. Overall, too little humor, too much social propaganda, too many tear-jerkers. Considering the Ray Rice controversy, I certainly understand why violence was nowhere to be seen and the sexism was toned way down. But you can still be funny without that stuff.
* I could hardly watch the halftime show. Then again, I always have trouble watching that halftime show. I didn’t see Janet Jackson’s infamous “wardrobe malfunction” back in the day because I was in another room at the time.
* Thankfully, the game itself was incredibly entertaining, right up until the final seconds. Wow! And while I agree with the various talking heads that a handoff would’ve been the right call for Seattle on the one-yard line, the play the coach did send in probably wasn’t the worst Super Bowl call ever - although I’m hard-pressed to think of a bigger end-of-game disaster.
* Almost every year that a governor has given a State of the State address before giving the budget address, we get goofy stories like this…
Gov. Bruce Rauner is set to deliver his first State of the State Address on Wednesday, and most area lawmakers are hoping he addresses the state’s fiscal problems.
The budget address will happen later this month, as Rep. Moffitt rightly points out…
State Rep. Don Moffitt, R-Gilson, said he too hopes to see a “roadmap” for the state’s fiscal future, though Wednesday’s speech might not be the platform to do it.
“I hope he will outline his roadmap,” Moffitt said. “First, where he wants to get to. Second, how he wants to get there. Although the ‘how to get there’ might be in the budget address on Feb. 18.”
The governor will likely talk about some general principles in the SOTS address, but specifics will most likely have to wait until the 18th.
* The Tribune took a look Sunday at something we discussed last week, the cash-strapped state child care program…
The Department of Human Services announced recently that it’s short nearly $300 million needed to pay for the day care program through June — the end of the budget year — and payments will be late starting this month.
Funding hiccups are nothing new to providers, who have become skilled at raising alarms to try to force action in Springfield. But this time is different, some say, because of the uncertainty about the new governor — a Republican who has declared that solving the state’s money problems will require “sacrifice” from all Illinoisans.
“Every year we go through something, but we’re able to rally and say this is important, and then the funding comes,” said Grace Araya, director of Eyes on the Future Child Development Center in Rogers Park. “We don’t really know where we stand. We don’t know which way this will go.”
* The governor was asked about the shortfall the other day…
When pressed by a reporter to explain what he’ll do to fix it, he responded: “Working closely, working closely with the General Assembly, we are going to make sure that we do the reallocations necessary to make sure the essential services of government stay open and functioning.”
* Charlie Wheeler looks at the budget problems facing the state and concludes…
The math is unforgiving — all the rest of state government could be zero-funded next year, and Rauner still would have to cut from education and/or health care/human services. That obviously won’t happen, so be prepared for the deepest cuts — ever — in the public’s most-cherished programs in the proposal.
(W)riting with Laffer for the Texas Public Policy Foundation in 2011, Arduin proposed to abolish that state’s defined-benefit pension, even though the state’s retirement systems were better than 90 percent funded. Such systems effectively create “a government entitlement program,” she wrote. “Entitlement programs violate the criteria of sound budgeting principles.” […]
Or, back to the first foundation piece, this little quip: “The longer tenure for public sector employees is related to the compensation package they receive. The government compensation package is designed to reward risk-averse behavior that keeps employees in the government sector and discourages people from transitioning between the public and private sectors.”
One more: As California finance director, Arduin persuaded Schwarzenegger to propose a spending cap. After budget cuts, the cap would limit spending hikes to “a rate equaling population growth plus the increase in per capita income,” as reported by the Sacramento Bee. […]
Reviewing her track record in Florida, the Bee also reported, “Bush and Arduin whacked health insurance for low-income Florida children and health services for adults, cut funding for higher education . . . and enacted an austerity budget for K-12 schools that, despite nominal increases, won’t cover schools’ higher costs.”
* You can certainly see Arduin’s hand in shapingsome of the governor’s budgetary “facts,” which are examined by the AP…
Rauner said Medicaid spending is “booming” and “unsustainable.” He showed a slide comparing a recent three-year rise in Medicaid spending to relatively flat Illinois population growth. […]
First, Washington paid for most of that increase. To improve access for the poor, the nation’s new health law expanded Medicaid eligibility and increased rates for primary care doctors treating low-income patients. The federal government paid the entire cost of covering more than 536,000 Illinois adults who previously had no insurance and wound up as charity care cases when they got sick.
Second, Illinois spends less per Medicaid enrollee than the national average and less per enrollee than any of its neighboring states. In 2011, the most recent year available, Illinois ranked 47th in Medicaid spending per enrollee, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Only California, Alabama, Georgia and Nevada spent less.
Rauner spokesman Lance Trover said Rauner’s point was to highlight that job growth hasn’t kept up with spending pressures.
“It’s not a sustainable trend line — regardless of the amount of federal dollars,” Trover said
Under fire for the high salaries he is paying members of his inner circle, Gov. Bruce Rauner said Friday the overall cost of running the governor’s office will be less than it was under former Gov. Pat Quinn.
But a review of records shows the political newcomer may be trying to keep his office costs lower by placing some of his top aides on the payrolls of other state agencies.
According to data supplied by the Illinois Comptroller’s Office, one-quarter of the more than 40 people Rauner announced as members of his administrative team don’t technically work for the governor’s office.
Take Randy Pollard as an example. In a news release issued Jan. 10 by Rauner, Pollard was named as the governor’s downstate director. But records show the former prison worker from Vandalia is being paid out of the payroll of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
That’s the usual way of doing things in Springfield, so it’s not a surprise, except Rauner said he wouldn’t do things the usual way.
* Here’s CFO Arduin with then-Gov. Arnold Schwartzenegger…
Governor Bruce Rauner convened a conference call this afternoon with leaders of the Illinois Department of Transportation, the Illinois Emergency Management Agency, the Illinois State Police, the Illinois Commerce Commission and Central Management Services for an update regarding the ongoing winter storm and the state’s readiness to assist citizens.
Prior to the call, Governor Rauner activated the State Incident Response Center in Springfield to ensure state personnel and equipment are ready to be quickly deployed if needed to help local emergency responders deal with the blizzard conditions in the Chicago area.
Relevant facts from today’s storm include:
· There have been no requests from local first responders for additional state assistance – state agencies are prepared in case a need arises
· There have been no serious injuries or fatalities reported due to today’s weather
· All IDOT snow plows are in use where needed
· There are further concerns following the end of the storm when temperatures drop which may result in freezing roads. Motorists are advised to remain off the roads, but if travel is necessary to use extreme caution
· There are approximately 16,000 ComEd customers without power
· There are approximately 1,850 MidAmerican Energy customers without power
· There are approximately 800 Ameren Illinois customers without power
· All companies have assured the state they are working as quickly as possible to restore power, and all customers should have power restored by tomorrow
· I-57 around Champaign is still closed due to an overturned truck – crews are working quickly as possible to open the highway – traffic is being diverted
· While the tanker truck was not carrying any hazardous material, approximately 68 homes were evacuated out of an abundance of caution
· There have been 1,100 flights cancelled at O’Hare and 200 at Midway
· State IT services are in good shape and functioning
The governor is confident the state is poised and ready for action should conditions continue to deteriorate and cause further, more serious problems. He continues to urge motorists to avoid travel unless absolutely necessary.
Daniel Biss appears to be the first Democrat to actively float his name for the 2016 special election for state comptroller.
The state senator from Evanston is known as a policy wonk around the statehouse, but he’s also a prodigious fundraiser, ending the fourth quarter with $721,000 in the bank.
The special election law was passed by the General Assembly in early January—just weeks after the death of Republican Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka. Former Gov. Pat Quinn signed it into law on his way out the door.
If the new law is upheld by the courts (which seems likely, but not 100 percent certain), Gov. Bruce Rauner’s appointment to the post, Leslie Munger, will have to stand for election in a presidential election year.
Since the days of President Bill Clinton, Republicans have been at a distinct disadvantage during presidential election years. No Republican presidential candidate has won this state since 1988, when George H.W. Bush defeated Michael Dukakis 51 percent to 49 percent. Back then, Illinois was considered a “bellwether” state for presidential campaigns. No longer.
Anyway, Biss would first have to survive the Democratic primary. And although no other candidates have yet floated their names, it’s expected that we will see some interest (there’s even some talk that Quinn might be interested).
Biss pushed hard for state worker pension reform when he was in the House and then again after he moved to the Senate. That hasn’t endeared him to labor unions, although I’m told he’s been attempting to reach out to the unions to try and smooth things over. Biss ran unopposed for the Senate last year, so the Illinois AFL-CIO took no position on his nonexistent campaign.
Meanwhile, state Sen. Napoleon Harris, D-Flossmoor, has been eyeing a move up the political ladder almost as soon as he won the 2012 primary to replace the retiring incumbent Rev. James Meeks.
Harris expressed strong interest in running for the U.S. House seat vacated by the disgraced incumbent Jesse Jackson, Jr., but wound up bowing out. Now, Harris is looking at a possible U.S. Senate bid.
Harris is a former NFL football player. Many of his former teammates have plenty of extra cash, which gives Harris a natural fundraising base.
He is also a successful businessman in his own right, a Beggars Pizza franchise owner in the south suburbs.
He is the first state legislator to express a strong interest in the Senate race. All of the other possible candidates mentioned so far are members of the U.S. House of Representatives.
One of those representatives expressing interest in running for Senate is Robin Kelly, who ended up winning the 2013 special election to replace Jackson, with Harris’ eventual endorsement. If both she and Harris end up running for Senate, that would mean two African-Americans from the south suburbs would be competing in the Democratic primary. Kelly would have to give up her House seat to run, but Harris just started a four-year term.
Republican incumbent U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk has a moderate (for Washington, D.C.) voting record. Kirk will also have strong support—financial and otherwise—from the majority Republicans in the Senate if he runs, which appears likely at this moment. And Kirk will benefit from a newly rebuilt party infrastructure, courtesy of Rauner’s gubernatorial campaign, and from Rauner’s super-wealthy contributor network. Kirk, himself, also has built an impressive fundraising network of staunch Israel supporters.
Even so, no Republican U.S. Senate candidate has won Illinois during a presidential year since Charles Percy was re-elected way back in 1972. President Richard Nixon absolutely stomped Democrat George McGovern that year here by 19 points. Even so, the Democrats won back the governor’s office.
The last Republican U.S. Senator from Illinois, Peter Fitzgerald, declined to run in the 2004 election, when George W. Bush lost the state by ten points. And the average Democratic presidential winning margin in Illinois since 1992 is over 16 points. Yes, Barack Obama pumped up that average, but they all won by double digits.
Even so, it’s not an impossible task for Kirk. He could actually run to the left of Sen. Harris on some social issues if the legislator manages to survive the primary. Harris voted “present” on the gay marriage bill, for instance. Kirk favors the “liberal” side of that position.
Imagine the uproar if a governor proposed a law allowing local governments to tell their residents that paying monthly cable television bills now is purely optional.
If your county or city opted in, you could have whatever cable channels you wanted without paying a monthly fee. No repair charges either, unless you felt like chipping in.
The governor likely would be laughed out of office. If you want a private service, even a monopolized private service, you should expect to pay.
But that’s pretty much what Gov. Bruce Rauner is proposing for labor unions.
It’s called “right to work” by its proponents, although Rauner referred to it as “employee empowerment” during a Jan. 27 speech in Decatur.
One possible scenario – perhaps the best-case scenario, given the tenor of the discourse now – is that Rauner intentionally is using his anti-union rhetoric as a bargaining chip to later get what he wants from AFSCME during negotiations. It’s not unusual during labor talks for each side to stake out extreme positions, hoping for eventual common ground in the middle.
But what Rauner has in mind is anyone’s guess outside of his inner circle. The first-time governor is untested and unknown, and he still isn’t offering specifics about how he intends to fix the state’s fiscal problems from a structural standpoint, instead continuing to rail about the sins of the past.
Rauner clearly believes right-to-work zones hold some promise for Illinois or he wouldn’t talk about them with such emphasis. But even the pro-business Illinois Chamber of Commerce says the move is unnecessary.
“Illinois doesn’t need right to work (laws) to compete with its neighbors,” Todd Maisch, chief executive of the Illinois Chamber, told the Chicago Tribune.
Rauner’s focus should be on bringing together the groups that have a role in fixing Illinois’ severe fiscal problems, including unions, rather than creating unnecessary divisions. Mutual respect is a must if Rauner intends to achieve his goals.
If last week was any indication, it’s shaping up to be a contentious year at the Capitol.
